


Tactical retreat

by Zedta



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 22:38:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10796172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zedta/pseuds/Zedta
Summary: Time in Deeprealms flows differently... making them ideal for plotting and vacation...





	Tactical retreat

They come to the front lawn, standing there and blinking slightly in the pleasant sun light. It is always a little bit different from the cloudy sky of home. Already, Xander is feeling a spike of eagerness. 

“I’ll see you soon, brother.” Behind him, Leo smiles. 

Xander turns to his brother and the young lady. “Enjoy yourself and give them my regards. Thank you, Lilith.” 

“Always my pleasure, Your Majesty,” Lilith answers brightly. She bows and opens the portal, simply vanishing with Leo inside. 

Left alone in the rustling garden, Xander breaths out and walks up to the cottage door. He is quickly slipping into a relaxed state; even when taking out the keys, his hand and arm are more slacked, taking their time in each movement. In this world, the demanding voice inside him is quiet, pleased to fall into brief sleep and let its master be an ordinary man.

The building is not spacious, but is kept very clean and neat. Xander sets the foods down on the dining table, starts to draw the curtains, lightly wipes the kitchen counter, and checks the cellar. Cheeses, wines, pickled vegetables, cured meats, a stocked pantry – he is all set. Still with that slow pace, he begins to prepare the meal. Little sounds of knives and clacking pots drift out, soon to be blended in the flapping of playful curtains and songs of hidden birds. 

It had all started during the war, when they utilized the Deep Realms for strategic meetings and healing grave wounds. Now in the era of peace, regular cheating of time has of course become something to be wary of, and the royal family members have agreed to not abuse it. Apart from keeping a log and informing his siblings before each trip as basic common sense requires, Xander also have a few rules for himself: no more than three days each time, no more than twice a month, and no more work than he can bring with one hand. 

It has been working out exceedingly well. Three days to calm down and consider things over instead of a couple of hours have saved him a few times, along with bringing about the definite defeat of many opponents. Additionally, Lilith’s ability also allows everyone to quickly travel for private purposes, such as when Leo and Prince Takumi goes on a trip this week… or when he and Ryoma arrange for time together. 

Xander tries to regulate his breath instead of sighing. The first quarter of a year is always hectic. As much as he has been trimming the duration and expense of official ceremonies, work still bombard him and his siblings, leaving them slightly spaced out. There were days when he would wake up in the middle of the night with the reports on the winter crop clutched to his chest, at which time his eyes would promptly flick down to the exact word they have read last, while his legs jaggedly carried him to the bathroom. There was also the period when, upon receiving a document carried to the conference table for him, he could take a swift sniff at the perfume and instantly use both the envelop and the papers inside as scrap paper, assured by the knowledge that the score of useless documents sent to him far outnumbers the useful ones anyway. He has curbed this tendency a little bit though, after the time he instinctively snatched a letter right out of Camilla’s hands and got smacked for it. 

For the past two months, Xander had only been coming to this Deep Realm when he felt overwhelmed to the point of emergency, always alone and ragged. It had occurred to him that his personal rules were rather ridiculous in such circumstances, but he had stuck to his principle, denying himself any indulgence in length or number of stay. If there was ever any stray from grace that he would count, it would be inelegant way he roused Lilith at two in the morning three weeks ago. He no longer recalls how much stress was going on, but he remembers having to sit down and write a letter to Ryoma the moment he arrived. It contained no formal language, only the most honest and satirical account of some feelings he has been holding in the last few weeks or few years. The release of emotion, aided with the fact that it was the ungodly hour of 4 a.m., made him feel as triumphant as a literature genius wronged by society. He does not know where the thing has disappeared to or if he had send it to Ryoma in a dazed moment, for the only item he has received from Ryoma since then has been a short note asking for time this week, and in a sense that is all that matters.

Thinking about Ryoma in this relaxed setting stirs up something in him. Stress from work can make Xander send many things out of mind, his longing heart included, and it certainly can blow out any spark of libido there might be. Now, with his hand idly stirring the ladle, he is suddenly free to roam among memories and fantasies of lust. In his mind, there appears a particular tilt of the head, an intense gaze that sweeps like surging tide. He thinks of bodies pushing and loving, of hands that invite or prehend. A light flush warms up his checks, and he laugh at himself, for he knows that this want is simply a semblance of something deeper, hotter, steadier. It will soon cede to his true desire, and thus he doesn’t mind letting the feeling tickle inside his chest for a while more. 

Small voices converse outside, then silence. Xander wipes his hand. He has left the front door ajar, and now he comes to it, crosses his arm and lean on the frame. He counts the moments, still enjoying the tiny flutters. 

The door is pushed open. He lets his lover take in the scene while he holds his gaze.  
Now, in this realm, those familiar features are right in front of his eyes and belong only to him. A warm gentleness like spring water blooms in his stomach, calm and whole. 

He steps into the reaching arms. “Ryoma.”

The embrace tightens. “Say it again.” He hears a whisper. 

“Ryoma,” Xander chuckles. “Ryoma.”

 

\-------------------------  
\-------------------------

Stepping into the bedroom after dinner, Ryoma halts. The large door to the balcony contains four panels, each has an upper and a lower part that can be opened separately. Currently, the four upper parts are opened, enough to show how much brighter the moon-lit sky is compared to inside the room. He opens the rest of the panels, letting light flood in and carpet the floor. From the bed, he sees the moon reigning over the world with her unabashed beauty. One could travel among clouds and find the most ethereal sights, but could never forget to feel humble in the face of the full moon. 

Soon, the sounds downstairs ceased and eventually, the bed dips down next to him. “Ah, the luxury of being in bed at seven.”

“Living like kings, are we?” Ryoma says lazily. 

Xander pinches him. “Sans the bad poems, so better.”

He groans and turns, letting Xander’s breath tickles his left ear. “I envy people who escape moon gazing parties.”

“Wished I could send you some Nohrian cloud.”

“There’s an idea. Don’t call it a pipe dream, I will ask Prince Leo if he can put some cloud into a pocket. I have endless faith in your genius brother.”

Xander laughs. “How do you usually survive those parties?”

Ryoma caresses the arm resting across his chess. “I used to drink the time away. Now, I just sneak my own things in. Flick papers with Takumi, drawing contest under the table with Sakura…” It’s strange. He never dreamt that everyone in his family could grow this close to each other. Valla has changed everything. “Oh, and from now on I can always reread your last letter. Incredible writing, that one.”

“Urg, I really sent it to you?” Xander buries his face into the pillow. 

“Don’t feel bad. You should complain more.”

“Hmn, hmn.”

“Like now, for example.” He nudges. 

“Alright alright, I’m complaining.” Xander breaths out.

They fall into silence. Ryoma smiles. This is Xander complaining – in silence. For a king like Xander, complaints are something that happen to him, not made by him to others. The moment he thinks of the word ‘complain’, he must be prepared to look, prode, ask, solve. It is an exhausting word to even mention. And so he rarely allows himself to complain, because it would be like flipping a switch that let him be a normal person, with opinions that may be of no consequence to anything in the world. 

“Actually,” Xander says after a while, “I would like to see that letter again. I barely remember what I wrote.”

“…Sure… If you don’t mind a few salty stains.” Ryoma recalls some of the lines and start laughing uncontrollably again, tear wells up at the corner of his eyes.

Xander sighs. “It’s okay. If I sent it to you, it must be because I thought it to be hideously funny too.”

“There, there.” Ryoma hugs him. “At least no one else will ever get to see it. I vow to you. Takumi was very curious because I kept howling at night but I was adamant…”

“Stop riling me up,” Xander smacks him half-heartedly, easily letting Ryoma catches his hand. “But, talking about Takumi, Leo told me to mention his idea for the anniversary of the peace pact to you. Not for next year’s anniversary though, may be in two or three years.”

“Support for the reconciliation effort has been positive, so it’s time we increase the scope,” Xander says. “He wants to arrange activities with more widespread influence.” 

Ryoma nods. In the past five years, they have only had the money and people power to tackle reconciliation matters in border regions and the power cores, which translated to trade facilitation and diplomatic parties – things that are indeed pragmatic but will take a long time to show significant effects in the eyes of the people. Meanwhile, wariness still clouds over the general population. It sounds almost like a joke, but in some remote regions, people of the two countries continue to sneakily trade with each other like they had in the past because they are not sure when the peace card might flip again. 

“So he is thinking of publishing a durable illustrated book, with useful maps of Nohr and Hoshido, along with pictures depicting our cultures and customs, both the similar and different points. Then we will have a few removable pages for calendar, including ones for crops and fishing. As the years go by, those calendar pages can be replaced.” 

Ryoma feels his mind catching up. 

“It would be something that people use frequently and carry with themselves most of the time. If we keep the illustration simple and well designed, maybe it will facilitate understanding between our people.”

“Absolutely,” Ryoma says, “Dear, this is brilliant!” 

Xander smiles, “We are still working a bit on the financial plan. This will cost a lot. What we have in mind is to put some money into publishers for research of better types of printing materials and techniques, as well as into the initial making of the book. In exchange, the bookmakers should keep the book reasonably priced and well distributed. And they will get profit from printing the replacing calendars. Of course, once it is consulted with Hoshido, there are sure to be more twitching and improving the plan. No doubt we will have to look at Hoshido’s resource for contents and materials, at the very least.”

Awe and excitement spark in Ryoma’s chest. For a moment, he thinks of how Takumi must feel whenever he barges into his older brother’s room, hand gripping a letter, eyes wide and mouth exclaiming “Gosh, that kid is brilliant”, as if he and Leo haven’t been acting like each other’s shadow for years. 

“What have you thought of for promotion? Bards and merchants?”

“Those are some options for certain regions. It will depend a lot on the money. If finance is tight and there are places that are hard to reach, we can use the military, but then we will have to be careful because we are mixing profits with security matters.”

“You guys are genius. And I am not talking about only Leo.”

“Ha, yes. Elise does have an endless supply of suggestion for the topic on games and toys, and Camilla is a charming negotiator.” Xander’s expression changes to combination of pride and amusement. “Actually, she proposes that we also make a book on sex.”

Ryoma gasps. “That is capital! A mutual interest that gives very sustainable sale. You have to admit that there are so many things we would never have learnt had you and I come from the same kingdom. Hoshido already has a lot, but even I was surprised by how many ways Nohrian can-” His hands make the motion of tying some ropes.

Xander pushes him lightly and let out an exasperated laugh. “I was referring more about sexual health and such. Not that the other topic is not valid, publishers should figure that market out by themselves. Anyway, Leo is doing most of the planning and coordination, so he has the most credits.”

“He is taking to governing works really well. 

“Yes, I am relieved.”

“Relieved? You mean because he likes it, right?”

“Because he likes it. Leo has such tremendous talent, and duties aside, as brother I have always feel bad about the role he pushes himself in. There he is, capable of and probably more interested in making the next best transportation system or management practice, and yet he had to spend all those years in conflicts and the war, pouring his efforts into keeping us alive or gaining advantages against petty people. I would not like it at all if he feels trapped by the works we do in rebuilding Nohr.” 

“Hmn.” Ryoma nuzzles into blond curves. As someone who started from zero, Xander holds high regards for gifted people. To him, talent is something to be leveraged and celebrated. Maybe it is because of this zeal that he can attract capable people and keep them together despite different personalities. 

Xander’s leadership has evolved much during the war and manifested its power more than ever since peace was reestablished. Sometime, even Ryoma feels that keeping up with its stride is a bit difficult. He must admit that maybe it is because he is inexperienced with regard to political hardship. It was easier for him to believe that with enough personal investment, he could achieve whichever improvement he might desire for Hoshido. For the Nohrian royals, the demands were vastly tougher, and they matched those with concrete goals and determination. ‘When in war, prepare for peace’. Toward the end of their joined campaign in Valla, it was clear that Nohr was going to take definite steps. 

‘We have made plans for the next ten years. Let’s hope that I can survive at least three years then.’ Xander had said with a wry smile. 

So Ryoma had anxiously waited, and he had seen. His position does not allow him to know in details, but the Nohrian military had underwent significant reconstruction, most notably in their social duties and more subtly in the distribution of power. Toward the end of his rule, the false Garon has concentrated power into very few hands, like a cruel boon for the reformation effort. However, even after the purge, Nohrian politic was not a blank slate. Xander has only expunged those most cruel and cunning among the corrupted. Those who are merely selfish and willing to bend to the new rule are still tolerated to a certain degree, for the kingdom had more pressing concerns regarding laws and orders, as well as foods and health. Things happened at many fronts at once and not always with consistent apparent rationale, which created a climate of cautious reaction overhanging the new court that still lasts to this day. Xander’s correspondents were reserved and spare, and thus Ryoma could only guess about what transpired based on the few news that Nohr allowed his spies to send back - big updates that might come almost daily or disappear altogether for months. Many of these reports, had Ryoma not understand the royal Nohrians so well, would have painted his friends as mercurial figures who swung between mercy and harshness, between welcoming and unapproachable. Some biased Hoshidans were quick to label the new court as hypocritical.

But oh Ryoma knows, damned if he doesn’t, how much the young monarch was dancing with the devils. 

He was once so proud of the noble qualities of Hoshidan. Honesty, compassion, and discipline have made them a people with golden heart, who is rightfully rewarded with the benevolence of the land. Yet how Hoshido has turned away from Nohr’s degradation while preaching its own virtues has revealed a very ugly truth, if not of its insincerity then of something even worse – an integrated denial. It always sends a shiver down Ryoma’s spine to think that with such level of ignorant, there are bound to be people in Hoshido whose plights have been buried down, painted over by themselves or society to keep up the pretense of beauty and normacy. Was Azura’s aloofness and his siblings’ veiled anxiety partially due to that too? Of course, Hoshido has problems to deal with after the war, from the new relationship with Nohr to the placation of Nestra, but at least Ryoma has the knowledge and tools to gauge those problems. This idea though, it is so foreign, so shapeless and incalculable that there were sleepless nights when he thought about it so much he figured he was mad and had made up the entire matter. 

When at last he could not bear this on his own anymore, he had brought it to his equal. Xander had looked at him at length and smiled tightly, “I may understand how you feel, I used to analyze my father to the point of insanity myself.” Ryoma was startled to hear him say so. Xander continued: “If you would excuse that I’m a Nohrian, I must say that what you say is a definite possibility. The extend of that effect can be far and deep. This is speaking from my experience with the Concubine War and the lack of awareness about it even in Nohr.” 

For some reason, those lines were liberating. Maybe it has opened up something inside him, so that he could see the world more clearly. He realized that just like Nohr, Hoshido would have to go on a long road of transformation, one that goes beyond his generation, and he would have to be the person who takes the first step, no matter how inadequate he felt he was equipped for the task. 

If there is one thing he is extremely thankful about, it is the fact that many of the children who were born during the war and brought up in the Deep Realms are inclined to take part in the new rules. These children are generally untainted by the past between the two countries and are not bound by rigid traditions. They are also receiving much help from Princess Camilla, who has given up her royal title and become their counselor, which naturally has no reductive effect on her social influence. 

It is also funny that he calls the youngsters ‘children’ even though they are only about a decade his junior. He can’t help regarding them so. Deep down inside, he always holds the belief that one day he and Xander, too, will-

His eyes are suddenly covered by a warm hand. 

“Thinking too much in bed is a bad habit and you were supposed to cure me of it, not pick it up.”

“You are the one who mentioned sex first.” Ryoma lies still, feeling Xander’s weight gently shifting onto his body. 

“When did you start making such unpleasant expression when thinking about sex?” Xander says, but only jokingly. He presses down a kiss and is responded in kind. 

Ryoma holds onto Xander, focusing on the warm lips that are moving down his jaw, his neck, his chest, lower. He hears the rustle of clothes, but is barely aware of where bare skin is meeting, for all he can sense throughout his body is a heat that is getting more feverish by the second. 

Then their bodies grind together and Ryoma’s eyes fly open, only now realize that Xander has lifted his hand long ago. He hears himself gasps. 

Xander looks down at him indulgently. 

Ryoma blinks and tries to laugh. “You really should take charge today. If you let me push you down, there is no telling what will happen.”

Xander smiles in between heavy breaths. “Humor me then.” He pats Ryoma’s check. “Keep your eyes open and watch.”

So Ryoma drinks in everything. His eyes trace the lines of Xander, fill in the parts hidden by darkness from memory. Clouds are chasing fast across the sky, moonlight filters in and out of the room like in a pleasant dream. 

When he feels himself entering Xander, Ryoma’s vision flares up. Suddenly, the sounds of panting and heart beats rush into his ears, threaten to overwhelm him. He sits up, use his hands to guide the tide. Gradually, they lose themselves in the familiar waves of desire. 

As they carry each other to the climax, an old thought rises in Ryoma mind. “Such ambition I have,” he says hoarsely into Xander’s ears. It takes Xander a moment to pick it up and looks down at him, his eyes already glazed over. But Ryoma keeps rocking on, until he feels Xander trembles in release. “We will be together forever,” he grunts. Not just for the ten-year mark. Not just for maybe ten more. They will work for a forever between Hoshido and Nohr. The world will see. 

The storm sweeps him away. 

Night breeze gently dances across their skin. They lie in each other’s arms.

At length, Xander stirs and moves his lips closer to Ryoma’s face. “You really said that,” he says, voice slightly sluggish.

Ryoma squeezes the hand he is holding. He pulls it up and lay it across his heart. 

Forever. The heaviest word a king could utter. 

“That is a nice word.” Xander mumbles next to his ear after a while. “I haven’t heard it in a long time.” The tickling breaths become slower and slower, succumbing to slumber.

Ryoma closes his eyes.

And so they rest.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for my broken English. I don't even know why this thing is so long either, especially since my writing is like that of a progress report...  
> I would be happy to receive prompts, so please feel free to comment or throw me a message [on Tumblr](http://zzzedta.tumblr.com/)! :D
> 
> I realized 5 minutes into writing that in a medieval-ist setting, having the kitchen inside the house is nothing fun… I can only pray that our FE boys and girls somehow have more advanced cooking arrangements than we did some hundred years ago.


End file.
